A new report by the United Nations has shown that around 1.4 million refugees are in urgent need of resettlement worldwide.
63,696 were resettled through the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees in 2019.
The UN noted that the number of refugees resettled in 2019 did increase modestly by 14 per cent when compared to the previous year when 55,680 people were resettled but the agency maintains that “a tremendous gap remains between resettlement needs and the places made available”.
The UN noted that in Nigeria, over two million people were internally displaced while 244,000 are refugees.
“Resettlement is not a solution for all the world’s refugees, but it is a life saving measure to ensure the protection of those most at risk and whose lives often depend on it”, said Grainne O’Hara, UNHCR’s Director of International Protection.
Out of the more than 63,000 refugees resettled last year, the largest number originated from Syria, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, and Myanmar.
Increasing refugee resettlement opportunities and other complementary pathways for admission, including through family reunification, work and study routes, is one of the key objectives of the Global Compact on Refugees, said UNHCR, representing “a tangible way for states to share responsibility and show solidarity with host countries supporting large refugee populations.”
